Star Wars OPEN New Sith Trials: Dark Reach: Episode I: An Order Remade

OOC: Before Friday, @darthhelinith, @darthbernael, @DarthIshyZ, you are welcome to do some replies here (lets avoid a second combo for the week methinks). GM pressie.

 

OOC: Helinith's minor movement approved by @darthhelinith

IC Renn
Soon to be rescued

Renn felt the message from Serapis as well, although he was also interested in hearing what Helinith had been about to say just prior to that message being received. He heard her reply and smiled back at her. ”A shame for the current moment, but….perhaps him getting us out of here will give us more time soon to continue where we left off.” His hand trailed down from her cheek, along her curves to her flank, before he removed it and attempted to stand.

”Very good healing, I’d say.” he said as he stood, there was only a few areas where there was a little tightness but that was more in the way of flesh just after it healed and needed time to get used to moving again.

He reached out to Serapis, ’Not just any senator, my friend, the one and only Leia Organa Solo. And she suspects we were the ones who last faced her brother, something I’ve tried to disabuse her of thinking. Two partially destroyed shuttles down here, Craziness and I are in one and Leia is in hers. Think the current is slowly moving us away from the Palace so we should be easy to find.’

He felt a warmth and, looking down, he realized he hadn’t moved far from his little Craziness, she was still quite close, at the moment. Part was, certainly the tight quarters of the flight deck of the shuttle, but the rest was just them.

He noticed she was still dressed as she had been ever since her clothes had caught fire, and he’d given her the cape from his bark. ”Can I have that for a second, Craziness?” pointing to the cape.

When she handed it to him he looked it over critically, then scraped a suddenly hard nail down one of the furrows in his bark peeling up a long, very thin strand of his bark. The nail elongated into a needle like shape and he broke it off. Running the ‘thread’ he’d made through the eye of the ‘needle’, he set to work.

A short time later he turned toward Helinith again and shook out what he’d done with the cape. It was still the same shade as it had been, matching his bark, but now it was transformed. It had the appearance more of a cloak allowing her to be fully dressed. Knowing what she liked it was sleeveless but did have a hood made from the sections that would have been the sleeves. ”Know you lost most of your clothes when they destroyed this shuttle including your favorite outfit, and while I know we’d both enjoy this level of dress, for us both,” a wicked grin crossed his face at that, ”something that protects that beautiful skin of yours might be better. And getting to see those tattoos of yours, couldn’t pass that up, making it.”

He smiled deeply at her now, as he handed it back, ”And it has pockets, on the inside.”

TAGS: @Sinrebirth, @darthhelinith, @DarthIshyZ

 

IC: Darth Insipid
Arriving at Hapes

While they travelled, he saw Iudex appreciate the luxury shuttle. It was a bit much, but Hapan diplomats were accustomed to presenting the Cluster in a certain manner, and the ship was thus ridiculously automated and modern. Insipid essentially told it where to go, and off it went, the chairs slightly warming and warping to their forms.

He hated it, himself. Anything that encouraged softness was against his nature; he was his strongest critic - and indeed everyone else's too. As much as he could respect the strengths of another, their weaknesses were disgusting and vapid... insipid, even. Nonetheless he enjoyed a crumbling bread concoction as they travelled, him poring over Kuati manifests and orders - all downloaded from Senator Apolin's own accounts, all keyed to his eye colour, voice and finger-print for specific ease. It had even included a randomised saying for him to input - so recording a soundbyte and using it wouldn't work more than once.

I doubt the Senator had ever said the words Hidden Forgotten Holy Ground, for example.

Either way, he focused on the data. It was proving difficult as Kuat had absorbed various companies and kept them as going concerns to hide other projects, and spun off new companies now the Galactic Concordance was in effect. The newest was Kuat-Entralla, with Entralla in the Velcar Sector... which was why he had tasked Bo with looking into it - not that he had heard much and presumably the Vizier was drunk again.

As they arrived, Insipid gestured at Iudex to take the comms. It would not do for them to know that Insipid was here, and yet so was the Kuati Senator. It may raises questions; a Falleen would raise different ones, but Insipid wanted to see how well Iudex thought on his feet.

It was Ducha Galney again, who had allowed Serapis through at Princess Secciah's nudging. As Insipid eyed the sensors readout from his ridiculous chair in the main area - he didn't even need to be in the cockpit, so automated a shuttle it was - he saw a suspiciously familiar YT-1300 making its way to the surface.

The Millennium Falcon was here.

As they arrived, he received both Helinith's Force panic, and of course Bernael's message.

*Lord Insipid,

I am sure by now you may have received Helinith’s Force message. I have received one as well, from Renn. Ta’a appears to be betraying everyone, us and the New Republic as well. Renn, Helinith, and Leia Organa Solo appear to be on the run from her forces at the moment. I am sending this so you have a secondary or tertiary confirmation of what is occurring there. We have Hux and his fleet here, trying to stall us, for whatever reason they have.

Hunger*

So they had found Hux and the First Order fleet at Yag'Dhul. Curious. Once he was finished here; they would have to follow. But Ta'a first.

Galney spoke up. "This is Ducha Galney of the Hapan Royal Navy. I note you are in an ambassadorial shuttle of Hapan design but have no record of your pending arrival. Please prepare to be boarded."

Insipid pulsed in the Force with disapproval as he shut down from what he sensed.

Princess Leia.

TAG: @Silvertough
---
Hapan waters, some distance away from the Royal Palace

As Serapis took the Hapan shuttle down, he would find the crippled ships of Leia and Renn & Helinith. The Force was heady with emotions, and Leia had not contacted the two of them for some time for that exact reason. Instead, she was reaching out, trying to get a sense whether her back-up team had taken the initiative and just headed in-system because she hadn't reported in regularly enough; Han was likely to do that, diplomatic niceties be damned, and sure enough she sensed him arrive even as she sensed the other Acolyte's shuttle arrive.

Leia opened a channel at this point, including them both.

"Acolyte ship, this is Princess Leia of Alderaan, the New Republic Minister. I have been working with Renn and Helinith to escape Hapes, as Ta'a Chume tried to kill us. I would appreciate you not shooting at me. We're both crippled, but managed to use our ships as water-rafts, after a fashion." She paused, but didn't say anything about the Falcon coming to the surface - for now. "Helinith? Renn? Are you free now?"

Of course, the Force kindly told them all that Darth Insipid had arrived.

Leia's eyes widened at the dark calamity that flooded the Hapan system with its presence, a crackle of power in the Force that was displeased.

Just as swiftly, Insipid dampened down his presence and vanished into the Force.

"That was -" Leia started, over the open channel. "But I saw Luke -"

She cut off, gasping somewhat.

TAG: @darthhelinith, @DarthIshyZ, @darthbernael
---
IC: Merel
Not far from Lehon, Unknown Regions

"I might be making the biggest mistake of my life..." Leda had muttered, swallowing audibly, and Merel grinned, looking at Sian, who merely glowered. "But as long as no one calls me 'mom', I'd like to hear more."

Sian stood, clanking to another room. He returned with a Box.



He set it down, and Merel, grinning, placed her hand atop it. It opened, four sides flopping to the ground and a Holocron was evident.

There was always a Holocron somewhere behind there things.

A red pyramidal Holocron.

"This is a relic from your timeline, Leda. It told us all about how the galaxy worked for you. About a Heresy that consumed the Force."

It activated, and a woman in a black cloak was evident, sufficiently nondescript that Leda would remember the man who had taught her before she came to Korriban. "Is that you, Danlos?"

"She's a Sith named Leda, my Lady. She wishes to become the Mother in our new family."

"Oh does she?" The woman paused, amused. "She feels familiar, though, as if she has a tie to the Grand Design."

"I am sure, my Lady," Merel said, bowing. Sian shrugged, and the Holocron eyed him. He bowed, also, reluctantly.

"The twins found me, when they were most lost, Leda," she said. "I gave them focus; I told them of the loose ends of that remain, and their chances in this new reality to shape the future as they see fit - especially now that the old has been broken so." A carnivorous grin rippled into the Force. "With no Gods, it is apt that we supply this world with new ones - though the Father has to be that monster Snoke... you could quite easily be the new Mother Goddess, no?"

A pause.

"Are you sure you are not related to Braata Danlos?"

TAG: @QueenSabe7
---
IC: Taun We
Kamino, walking the hallways

"I will pass your orders onwards, my Lord," the Prime Minister said in relation to the beefed up security. "It may be appropriate to purchase some new defence stations and even warships from the Kuati's, so we can be secure in our efforts to defend the system?" That was a major expenditure, but they had to start somewhere.

“I will also wish to have a word with you on something very important. You offered me the job of Prime Minister, which I gave to you in order to be the face of our plans and I expect you to continue to do so. But tell me, Taun We, how long has it been since Kamino has been led by an… Emperor?”

The Kaminoan blinked at Cocytus. "Never, as far as I can tell, my Lord. But are political reorganisations truly a necessary use of our time when the New Republic are clearly looking for a reason to annex our system? It must have been the The Outer Rim is not yet under their full control, but I do not wish for us to jump to the top of their list."

Indeed, former Imperial warlords remained active across the galaxy, with some at the Velcar Sector, others by Nevarro, and so forth. It was Taun We's belief that these outfits were fronts for other, more secretive Imperial Remnants, and she was knew they would draw the ire of the New Republic sooner or later... even as they dismantled what was left of the surrendered Empire in the Core and Inner Rim.

As they reached the Prime Minister's office, he gestured for the guards to remain, while they went in so they had some privacy.

Styx trailed behind respectfully, but did not immediately go to follow Cocytus or Taun We into the room.

The Prime Minister paused to allow Cocytus to precede him./

TAG: @Darth Cocytus
---
IC: Wapoe
Yag'Dhul system, about to enter a full-blown skirmish

”Million credit question for you, my grumpy counterpart, what do you do when your galaxy begins falling apart? Let’s see there’s this fleet here and if you check with the boss you may find even more chaos elsewhere. A Shadow cannot be everywhere but it seems you may be losing a Skywalker, excuse me, a Solo due to politics, very soon. And that is just the tip of the iceberg.”

He tapped out a quick message to Insipid on the datapad in his hands, while Wapoe wondered at the data streaming in of the First Order fleet - and it was a fleet; large enough to crush the Yag'Dhul defence system. The Terminus-class ship was slowly making his way forward, stroking his chin. It was definitely Brendol Hux out there; his snivelling behaviour was self-evident.

Bernael smiled again, not a pleasant one by any means, behind the mask, ”So still want your only two powerful Force users, besides yourself of course, out and in small ships that can be shot down, while we neutralize this particular threat on the way to deal with a greater one? Or is a slightly different, and unmuddled, perspective more useful here?” followed by another dry chuckle.

"We can't outgun them, Bernael," Wapoe said, abandoning formality and focusing on the problem. "I can sense a great confluence of events on Hapes, so even if you want us to divert there, we need to chase off Hux first. Princess Leia has proven time and time again she is more than capable of planning for her own survival... the light has not needed our help since the Battle of Endor... not with the dark cutting at itself until the Battle of Jakku could undo it."

He stroked his chin. "When combating a larger force, our only chance of success lies in disrupting their command structure. So - you and Manticore need to get Hux to pull back; unless you think he can do it on his own, and you need to get to Hapes that quickly that you would abandon him, of course?"

Wapoe tapped the route out-system. "There is a tiny window where we can continue on our journey without any input if the First Order is too busy to chase us... unless you want to lure them to wherever Merel and Sian are... or to attack Hapes?"

The telbun shrugged. "It's up to you. Manticore is a proud warrior - he can do plenty. I shall defer to your 'greater experience' for the moment."

Hux for his part, watched on the probe droids sensors as the Terminus advanced. It was going slow, but wouldn't be able to scan for the First Order ships... he was tempted to just bite and invade, but Snoke would have an opinion on it, if he did it without him. The Resurgent was ready, though not tested since it had been renovated. With a slight nod, he watched as a blip entered sensor range.

"What is that?"

"A single scout ship, sir, X-wing class."

Hux sneered; so that was why the Terminus was advancing so slowly - they knew. "Destroy it; send our patrols after it."

As such, four TIEs advanced on Manticore, expecting an easy kill.

TAG: @greyjedi125, @darthbernael
---
IC: Shimmer
Explume Minor, baffled

"No, no, no, no." Her master had muttered as he looked at the screens taking in the message. "I didn't tell them my name. It can't be my Grandparent, they should be dead! I don't even exist previously in this universe. Unless they hopped." Tapping the console she noted two landing sites, and Shimmer was content that her perceived discord in the messages was the result of two parties contacting them.

"North to breeding, success, sanctuary. . .possibly a hundred year delay due to that message where I would have to transfer your mind into a pet Lugubra of the Blind Legion to keep you viable for leaving eventually." Soliloquy visibly winced at that, and Shimmer blinked in sudden surprise. "Or South, where they know my name that I didn't give them. No one should of known that Soliloquy is a Croke - Insipid didn't even know until this past week." His shock was genuine, and that concerned Shimmer more than anything; her master was babbling - terrified, surprised, confused, and that was just her.

"Unless one of those on Kesh is a Croke. Grandparent though. Either a trap or the fantastical best thing ever. Not knowing is such an aggravation though. Not sure if this is fueled by hormones or actually a good idea. . ." Raising a hand to his mouth he muttered a little more for a second as he watched distances be chewed away. "Head South, raise shields double toward the approaching craft and divert all other power to the engines. Either they want to make this look good or someone's already wanting me dead." He shrugged slightly at that, "And before we have formally met. How rude."

Flicking the switch to respond his mouth distended again, but this time Shimmer was focused on his instructions. Finished, he finally looked at Shimmer and she had the distinct feeling that she was an after-thought, which was even more odd as he'd just mentioned 'transferring her mind into a pet'. "You know where the survival gear is if we loose atmo yes? Remember secure yourself first."

Shimmer blinked. "Yes, Master, I know." She thought she did, anyway, reasserting her mind at the raw influx of data.

The ships fired, a hammering weapon that was raw kinetic power, bashing at them and shaking the ship. "These aren't normal guns, Master." She winced, but another strangely elegantly curved opened fire on the approaching vessel, forcing it to cease fire on them. She dove them south, but they were still accruing hits just from random fire -

As they dove by the larger ship, there was a projectile launched at them, a mass of some kind. Shimmer eyed it early on, planning to evade it in the last moment to stop whatever automated tracking it had from compensating, but just before it did so, it exploded - raining white-grey bodies on the ship.

They attached, and Shimmer blinked as a white creature with an oversized maw blocked her view.

She screamed in-spite herself. "Master?"

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto

 

A combo with Lady Belligerent – thank you so much!!

IC: Aryan Graul and Dr. Olag
Medical Bay, Aboard the Dark Dreamer, Taris

A tremor passed through Aryan’s body as Dr. Olag approached from behind and placed a hand upon his back to lend support. He had not known he was standing so close, not with how absorbed he was in this moment. Valieri had taken precedence. But when he finally realized the full extent of the man’s actions – that he had been eavesdropping on their intimate conversation, his surprise quickly turned into a volatile mix of humiliation, shame, and annoyance. All emotions he could not properly contain; all heavily focused on his own self-image.

He rose awkwardly to his feet and whirled on the doctor with a muttered curse, his efforts only impeded by the sudden shift of gravity as the ship shuddered underfoot. Although it wasn’t graceful, he probably moved far more quickly than any previous attempts while still struggling to overcome his mild hemiparesis. Either it was the adrenaline coursing through his veins, or maybe he was simply too distracted to dwell on his limitations any longer.

Nevertheless, Aryan remained uneasy after being caught in such a vulnerable position. He was angry with himself and felt compelled to make up for it, which is why he stubbornly refused to accept the cloth Olag offered him to wipe away the remnants of his tears. Instead, he reached up and harshly rubbed the back of his jacket sleeve across his face like an insolent child.

His blue-gray eyes hardened even further when Olag then proceeded to lecture him about the dangers of developing emotional attachments to the female of the species. It was almost comical to hear this kind of relationship advice coming from such a waifish man, except the situation was very real and his words held some weight. Especially with how it pertained to Syren and Valieri.

The most Aryan could do was stare at the doctor, his lips pressed together tightly as he mentally prepared himself for what was coming next.

“She doesn’t need your confessions,” Olag explained gently, seeming to take his silence as permission to continue. “What she does need is Syren to allow her to heal, and I suspect you’ll have to insist she do just that or Valieri will die.”

Aryan’s heart sank in light of Olag’s revelation – he couldn’t even begin to process the ramifications of what the doctor was asking him to do. In many ways, it was an impossibility. It was the Nirauan Council incident all over again, but this time, things were far more personal. He recognized that now, the pieces slowly starting to fall together...

Damn you, Syren.

With a derisive scoff, Aryan shook his head slowly. “She, uh...she won’t do it,” he stated firmly, his words laced with tension. There was a hint of bitterness there as well, though he wasn’t sure if Olag would pick up on it. “You...you don’t know Syren as I do. She thrives on chaos. This...umm, this was her way of eliminating the competition--she views this as a victory. You won’t convince her otherwise.”

Olag listened to Aryan’s response as he studied Valieri’s lifeless face. “She would consider this innocent woman’s death a victory? You choose someone so ruthless over a being so inherently kind?”

“It’s...uh--it wasn’t a conscious choice,” Aryan retorted testily, interpreting the question as a veiled accusation and taking offense. He shouldn’t even have to explain himself to someone like him, yet he felt obligated to do so anyway. It was as if he was still beholden to Syren, and that realization made the truth that much clearer. “I...I can’t help how I feel. I know, uh...I know that she’s dangerous, brutal…reckless, but I’m not perfect either. I’ve done some, umm...some terrible things in my life, and sometimes, it’s like--I dunno...I’m bound to her simply as a punishment. That’s why, uh--why I can’t get her out of my head. It’s a form of ret--retribution for all of my misdeeds.”

A mirthless laugh escaped from his lips at how ridiculous it sounded, but he prattled on all the same. He couldn’t help himself. “But, uh...the thing is--I wouldn’t do anything differently. I...kinda like it. I often crave it. Despite everything that happened, she...uh, she still makes me feel alive.”

The doctor turned and looked into Aryan’s eyes with a serious expression, then shook his head before continuing. “I was raised to believe attachment was dreadful and forbidden, yet some thrive in relationships, so I’m not entirely sure about my advice.” Olag looked towards Cheryl as if he would help but Cheryl just shrugged in response.

The equipment keeping Valieri alive hummed softly in the silence and Cal was now slumped over a desk, possibly sleeping.

The ex-Jedi sighed, “you have to do right by Valieri,” he said coldly and again staring at Aryan, “turn off the life support and allow her to go be at peace. If Syren will not reverse what she did, either unknowingly or on purpose, then you must finish the deed.”

The doctor’s ultimatum was not entirely unexpected. Somehow, Aryan had a feeling something like this would happen – it fit perfectly with the grim narrative of events so far. Since waking up in this same medical bay weeks ago, everything in his life had become increasingly more complicated as a result of the two women he cared about most. What was another cruel twist of fate? Another life-altering decision? It was relentless.

All Aryan could do at the moment was divert his eyes to the floor. He found that he was unable to hold Olag’s gaze or to look upon Valieri’s body as she rested peacefully in her bed. It only evoked more guilt, though not for the reasons that had appeared wholly transparent a short time ago. He now recognized the truth, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to step back from the edge and embrace it when so much uncertainty still remained.

With a sigh, he instinctively reached up to stroke his beard as he worked through his processes. Naturally, he wanted to deflect – to find a recourse that would relieve him of this duty and put the pressure on someone else, but he resisted that impulse. By acknowledging this behavior, he was becoming more aware of his deficiencies and taking an active role in overcoming them. It was a positive sign in regards to his recovery.

It also helped him to make a decision. He knew what he had to do.

Slowly lifting his chin to meet Olag’s gaze, Aryan pursed his lips and offered a stiff nod. “I, uh--I understand,” he muttered quietly, a humorless smirk lifting one corner of his mouth to mask his unease. “It's a longshot, but I’ll talk, umm--I’ll talk to her.”

TAG: @Lady Belligerent; @Darth_wanderguard; @QueenSabe7 (for mentions)

 

IC Hunger
What shall we do?

Hunger smiled at Wapoe’s words, ”The Light has not needed that help you say, and yes you would be correct in that, but it does not justify the antipathy toward the Dark, the Balance is both, is it not, which means that whether you want such the Dark needs assistance. But part of your argument has merit. I will take my ship, with a further flight of 3 X-Wings slaved to mine to assist Manticore and draw out the First Order. If we can cause their fleet to suspect higher intentions than we have we can get at least a portion of them to follow and be swallowed by the meat grinder of the forces I believe Merel and Sian have now. Perhaps a ‘negligently’ uncoded comm call they can receive could likewise divert a portion of their forces toward Hapes to add to the chaos and allow our forces to gain the upper hand.”

He smiled again, then nodded to the Captain. As he walked out of the bridge hatch he sent one last thought toward Wapoe, ’The one we are the Shadows of would be displeased should I depart and suddenly find myself and Manticore alone in the system, of that I am sure, we both belong to it, despite your dislike of that.’

He swiftly made his way to the flight deck where he saw a crew of technicians working on a further 3 X-Wings, loading the droids to pilot them and engaging their slave circuits. He leaned into the cockpit of each, checking with the droid pilot and the programming of the fighter, as the technicians finished. It would not do if the ships suddenly targeted him or Manticore or vanished on them, mid confrontation either. Satisfied, he headed to the fighter he had arrived in.

He thoroughly inspected it, as Manticore had. Trust was earned after all and Wapoe had, to date, shown very little to extend it fully. Once satisfied with his fighter as well he leapt from the deck into the fighter and closed the canopy. Activating the Master switch he waited as each of the three slaved X-Wings joined the circuit. Touching the side of his mask he felt the metal rise up from the collar of his armor, surround his head, and close off any openings that would expose him to vacuum should the canopy breach, A breathable mixture flowed in and the display in the eye pieces lit up.

Nodding to the Flight Deck officer he lifted the ship from the deck and the three slaved fighters joined him. He added a touch of power and the four drifted toward the exit to the hangar. Just before they breached the force field at the exit he sent a command and the other three closed up on his, until they were almost foil to foil. The flight of four slipped out, drifting behind and below the Terminus for a moment, as though a parasite frigate detaching for an operation. And, indeed, in their current flight any sensor that painted them would assume they were a frigate based on the reflected image of their mass.

Once free the flight arced around the Terminus, as one dipped a wing toward the bridge and headed out on what could be called a follow on scouting trajectory. The path was designed to bring them close to Manticore in a least time arc, while still appearing to be just a large scouting presence. ”Ghost 2 taking the frigate Janus to assist Ghost 1 on his patrol” he broadcast for the benefit of whatever probes the FO had nearby that were snooping.

As the flight moved Hunger reached out to Hate, not via the comm but through the Force, ’Interesting revelations, Brother. Hapes has flared up and we have the possibility to split this FO fleet, make a part chase us and make the Twins use up forces destroying them and send a part to sew confusion at Hapes. But for now, I am almost upon you, and it seems the foe has sent TIE’s toward your position.’

The ‘frigate’ slowly caught up to Manticore, having to fly slower than the X-Wings best speed, but close to that of a true frigate to maintain the illusion. But soon enough the flight had closed on his fellow Sith and tucked his X-Wing into the sensor shadow cast by the much larger one the flight was allowing to be seen.

”Ghost 1, Ghost 2 joined up, have you at my 7 o’clock, patrol to continue as scheduled.” Once again Hunger used the comms as much as a weapon as any the fighter carried.

TAGS: @greyjedi125, @Sinrebirth

 

Ike Kya
Battle above Taris

The defence of the Sith yacht had entered into a kind of groove, and he swore that the enemy was steering clear of them as much as possible, too concerned by their ability to blow things up. He swung his ship up and over a fireball he'd just made, and caught the end of Plo's static filled reply.

" - to retrieve him."

Ike swore to himself, but Syren was on it. "Kriff," she swore, listening on as the commanders bantered back and forth as to whether he was still alive or splattered in several pieces on the ground far below - banter that Ike was about to join then Syren snapped. "Shove it, both of you." Syren growled impatiently into her mic, already aligning her focus on the tangible yet faint connection she had on his position. "I'm on it."

He resisted the urge to fly down after her, and tried to comm Anark directly. "Get your ass up here, fly-boy."

He tried to poke Anark, the Force equivalent of mooning the man, but he encountered the jagged edge of a broken mind. "Ah shavit," Ike said, as he withdrew back to his mind, squeezing the controls to try and stay on course. "Plo, Bell; Anark's gone mental again. Recommend we let him go before we lose Syren."

The destruction of the Taris fleet was increasing, with burning hulks aplenty. He didn't know what they were going to pull off here, but staying in position above the target just wasn't viable, long-term. Taris would fall to the mysterious Ren soon enough.

He took a deep breath. They were running of time. "See ya, guys."

With a kick of his engines, he headed towards the nearest and tightest collection of Ren warships - and began firing. He had to distract them, and keep them busy. A part of him glowered - that part that had been saved by his husband, and for a moment, Ike Kya was back, not just the bitter man, but the brilliant one.

It wasn't suicide if you succeeded.

He used to say that.

Once.

A long, long, time ago,

"Hey Bell, make me one of those mixers for when I'm back, would ya?" He clicked off, cutting the channel.

Submerging in the flow, he peacocked into the Force, wagging at the attacking fleet.

Come and get me.

TAG: @QueenSabe7, @Darth_wanderguard, @Lady Belligerent, @Snokers

 

OOC: Finally getting away from the crazed Ta'a with @darthhelinith, @DarthIshyZ, and @Sinrebirth

IC Renn, Helinith, Serapis, Leia, Han
Rescue and….

Renn smiled and giggled a bit at Helinith, ”I may not need clothes but some skills are fun to learn, and if I’d had more time I’d have alchemically enhanced it. But…”

His voice cut off and his head tilted upward, several varieties of smile flitting across his face, before he looked back down into her eyes. ”Serapis is coming, and more than that. I feel a great love through the Force, directed at Leia, and reciprocated, approaching. And beyond that there was the briefest sense of a dark presence that reminds me of Insipid. So Hapes is rapidly turning into a focal point of the galaxy.”

The bark around his neck and cheeks darkened, ”By the way, those are majestic tattoos.”

Helinith avoided probing the force wherever possible, though she didn't need to. The flash of the former master's presence was unmissable.

"Oh good the former master has arrived." she smiled, though it faded when the sting of his disapproval hit. Whether or not she and Renn were currently targets for his displeasure was impossible to tell but would soon become clear, she was sure.

Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…

Had she been on her own, she might have been close to panic. She wasn't sure she'd ever quite messed up with such spectacular results. No that was a lie, the fallout from the job on Manaan had definitely been worse, and the punishment...

No no it's okay. It wasn't our fault, it was Leia's fault, she was the one who undid the negotiations... No it was Ta'a's fault! She was the one who welcomed Leia here! ...No it was Insipid's fault for sending the wrong tool for the wrong job. Never send an assassin to do a politician's job.

So why did she feel so... guilty... about it?

Never mind. She had a new plan. Find and depose a Hapan monarch, and forcefully commandeer a fleet, in the amount of time it would take Insipid to get planet-side. Easy.

Renn's compliment cut through the brain fog of plotting.

"Hmmm? Oh thank you." She looked down at her arms absentmindedly, remembering the pain and the power that the ink had represented. "I don't feel particularly worthy of them right now."

She began to bounce slightly from one foot to the other, before suddenly springing up through the hole made by the earlier detonation. She landed on the top of their floating shuttle, waiting impatiently for Serapis so she could get started with her perceived 'redemption' plan.

Serapis was approaching the wrecked shuttles. He felt Insipid's presence and was thankful. There was a bit more than a day left to rendezvous with Snoke for negotiations.

A comm signal came in:

"Acolyte ship, this is Princess Leia of Alderaan, the New Republic Minister. I have been working with Renn and Helinith to escape Hapes, as Ta'a Chume tried to kill us. I would appreciate you not shooting at me. We're both crippled, but managed to use our ships as water-rafts, after a fashion." A pause. "Helinith? Renn? Are you free now?"

Obviously a three-way comm. He responded to his part, "Acknowledged, New Republic shuttle. This is D- 'scuse me. This is Serapis, a friendly, approaching. Princess, do you need a lift off this rock or do you have someone coming?"

He angled his shuttle toward an open area and set his landing gear. Meanwhile he drew his Force presence in so he didn't tip off his Sith affiliation, too much. It was bad enough he almost gave his Darth title over open comm.

Just before Renn started to shift to pull himself out of the hole in the shuttle he heard the comm chirp. Since Craziness had already left he grabbed a portable headset, settling it over his head and replied before he joined her, ”Serapis, Renn here, Helinith is on the outside of our shuttle now and I am about to join her. Leia, yes we are free and you can evacuate your shuttle now, whether you need a lift from us or not.”

Leaving the headset in place in case he needed to make any more communications he shifted, elongating, until his head poked out of the hole, followed by his torso, up to his waist. As he let his lower half shrink again, his hands bracing against the exterior, ”Serapis is here Craziness. And whatever happens we face it together, even Insipid’s displeasure, so do not take that all on your shoulders, you are most certainly worthy of those tattoos.”

As his lower half resumed its normal form he used the momentum of it to toss him the remainder of the distance out of the hole, roll, and come up beside Helinith, hand touching her shoulder for a moment before beginning to scan for any threats that may have followed Serapis.

Helinith touched Renn's hand, acknowledging it.

"Whatever happens, you mustn't try to save me or step in for me or anything. I'm gonna take whatever comes, I'm not going to run away."

She squeezed his hand affectionately and took an enormous force jump onto the bank where Serapis had brought down his shuttle. Then she turned and reached out both hands to bring both of the floating ships closer to the bank and out of the main current of the river.

There was a sonic boom as a ship rushed down to their level, and Leia would look out her cockpit window to see the familiar outline of the Falcon dropping in on them. In a moment it was hanging above Serapis and the others, underside quadlaser pointed.

Over the speaker, Han spoke out. “Someone best tell me where my wife is before I get trigger-happy.”

Leia grinned and rushed to head to the ladder and the roof of her ship.

Helinith cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled up at the ship, quite forgetting they would be unlikely to hear her without a com.

"Hey! Idiot! We helped save your wife's life from a homicidal monarch! A thank you would be a bit more polite!"

Renn was prepared to follow Helinith off the shuttle but when she moved it he almost lost his balance. So he was still on the roof when the Falcon dropped into sight. He heard her yell and since he had the comm headset on he replied, ”Falcon, As you can see your wife, which means you must be Han Solo, is safe and sound on the roof of her shuttle.”

He had seen her emerge and as he finished he turned and waved to Leia before jumping and flipping backward off of the shuttle to land on the turf by Helinith. ”Nailed the landing, Ten out of ten for accuracy and flair, and the crowd goes wild!” Turning again, and continuing to ignore the quadlasers pointed at them he strode over to Serapis’s shuttle and knocked on the hatch, ”Hope you have a change of clothes for Craziness in there, she looks good in the robe I made but I’m sure it’s itchy, bark against skin.”

Serapis opened the hatch. "Good to see you, too, my friend. I don't know what's on board. I just got this shuttle from Secciah. Honestly, I don't have time for pleasantries. I'm so sick of this space, I could spit."

He looked out the hatch at the landing freighter. "Well, Leia's got her ride, can we get out of here, please?”

Helinith jumped neatly through the hatch onto Serapis' commandeered vessel.

"Actually, third master, I was kinda toying with the idea that we fire missiles at the palace and try and hunt down Ta'a, but if this is a borrowed shuttle, there's likely going to be some sort of technology preventing that, isn't there?"

She sighed. Her plan for redemption was looking increasingly futile.

Renn ducked the hatch and into the shuttle. Standing, dry and in a shuttle that wasn’t screaming warnings at him he began to realize was a very pleasant thing. He thought quickly about what both Serapis and Helinith had said, and as he unconsciously ended up next to her a smile began to light up his face.

”Well…….if this thing is fast enough we could try to do both. It would probably take a minute or two to rig the missiles on our half destroyed shuttle to fire on the palace on a delay and then depart. And since Insipid is nearby, even if he’s hard to sense, destroying a good partition of the palace may not balance out not getting the fleet but will be a good deposit on the repayment of finding one.”

Standing, listening to his cohorts, Serapis realized, again, how disgusting he felt. Time pressure also weighed on him. "Can I suggest we meet up with Insipid, first? Helinith, you don't want to go attack someplace dressed in... bark, do you?"

There was something new about these two. He couldn't put his finger on it. He looked at each of them in turn, brow furrowed.

"I have an appointment I need to discuss with him, anyway. Is Leia good? Ride-wise and 'acolytes'-wise?"

Leia waved down Han, as she emerged from the top hatch of her ship. He sounded chagrined but not really, shouting back. “Well you should have told me sooner!”

He slid the Falcon down, slowly, and Leia looked at the others through the hatch of Serapis’ ship. “Are we going to try and leave together, so there are two targets for the mad Hapan Queen?”

Han was evident at the bottom ramp, a blaster to hand. “Um, so why are we down here?”

“Oh,” Leia said. “Turns out the monarch those guys helped install turned on them pretty much immediately and so we’re also on her ‘to be killed’ list.”

“Ah,” Han said. “So these are the guys that Luke tangled with here?” His blaster was not quite pointed at them... but the upper quad laser definitely was, and Chewbacca was there.

Renn noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that Leia and Han, it had to be, were still out of the Falcon and discussing things. He couldn't see it from where he was standing but he was sure that at least one weapon was trained on their shuttle still. But that reminded him of something.

A tentacle, of sorts, grew rapidly, from his side, flying out of the open hatch, and toward the tableau of the Solos. It reached Leia, tapping her on her shoulder. When it was sure it had her attention it pointed down at the saber still attached to her waist then a flat plate-like shape formed at its end. When the saber was placed on the plate, it wrapped around the saber and the tentacle flashed back inside the shuttle. A whispered, Thank you drifted in the Force, to be heard by her.

When the tentacle retracted back into his side, Renn held out the saber to Helinith, smiling gently to her, ”Didn’t want to leave and forget this, my Craziness.”

Turning back to Serapis, he grinned again, this time a much more cheeky grin. ”Well we can set them for remote launch then, let the big boss decide. But I would certainly enjoy a Hapan bonfire.”

Helinith, remembering the missing lightsaber, poked her head back out the hatch but caught the end of the conversation between Han and Leia which interrupted her train of thought. Indignation!

"Hey that's so not true!"

Helinith yelled over the water.

"We came in peace, you're the one who poked her around enough to make her set the battle droids on us!"

Renn had thought ahead of her, however, and she watched the progress of his 'tentacle'. Taking the lightsaber from Renn's outstretched hand, she nodded at him gratefully.

"Thanks." She patted it fondly. "Wouldn't want to go forgetting that."

Helinith ducked down into the shuttle and looked at Serapis.

"We really did try to keep her off the trail, we didn't even use red lightsabers, but I think the former master's arrival has helped her connect the dots."

She huffed.

"It gets worse. Turns out Luke Skywalker has been told of the existence of Kesh by a certain long-necked individual. He's currently hunting for it as we speak, hence why he hasn't turned up here."

She growled and looked at Renn.

"If I ever suggest coming back here, you're to shoot me in the face."

Renn laughed, ”Took the words right out of my mouth, Craziness. Doubt she’ll ever let either of us come back anyway, after the uterus thing and me telling her we put her on the throne and have no problem removing her from it.”

He broke eye contact with her, looked over to Serapis, ”Honestly, yes, if Leia hadn’t been such a sore loser at me beating her at political byplay we could have gotten what we wanted, but she made it, hmmmm, very personal.”

Making a wry face, ”So Ta’a was primed to go off by that and it just went downhill from there.”

Serapis looked down, pacing, kept his mouth shut. It was always better to get the full story by letting beings babble. And everyone gets so freaked out by silence.

A sigh, deep and meaningful. He looked out a window at the freighter and the two, no, three, beings out there. He looked back at Renn... and then Helinith. Listening.

When they'd said all this, he paused a moment longer.

"Sevens, warm us up. We're leaving. Soon." He suspected they weren't done with this freighter or Leia, yet, though.

As an afterthought, he commed the other ship. "Thank you for your help with my fellow Acolytes. Your generous assistance will be remembered... and conveyed to our leadership."

Leia bit her lip as the ramp went up and she listened to the comm. She had grown fond of the lightsaber, admittedly. Maybe she should ask for hers back from Luke. Han watched with wide eyes as she tapped to reply. "I sensed someone similar to the man he cut the head off on Kuat. Is that your leader's sibling? Your new leader is as powerful as the man my brother killed?"

She had to ask - before they were gone. Chewbacca growled.

Han told him to hold fire for now.

Serapis threw a concerned look at Helinith and Renn as he hit the mute button.

Helinith swallowed.

"Definitely connected the dots."

Renn shook his head, a chuckle belying his thoughts to a degree. ”Just because I beat her, once, in the political game, doesn’t mean she isn’t extremely intelligent. And able to put two and two together and get four.”

He thought through what she had said and it made a devious grin appear on his face. ”But she doesn’t seem to know about Essence Transfer so if it gets to the point where Insipid does have to speak with her, here, it would be a good cover and hide that he has that ability.”

Laughing again, ”I’d say we could have a lot of fun and enjoy the chaos it causes among them by keeping them as confused about us as possible, will not hurt to keep much of what we know, are, and are planning, in the shadows.”

Serapis nodded to the two. Confusion, indeed. And time. The Sith could still remain isolated and secret, but only if they could get control of the situation. For that, Serapis would stall and appeal to Leia's home base: diplomacy.

He deactivated the mute. "Yes, Princess, you felt one of our order in the Force. I did, too. I believe that is the leader of our order" The truth. "But, as you know, Force powers manifest themselves differently in each being." Also, the truth. "So, I'm not sure if that was, indeed, our leader." A gentle lie as diversion. "We do have a pre-arranged meeting scheduled in another system, so, although I would love to meet you in person and for you to meet our leader, now, is not a good time." The truth as set up. "Perhaps we could arrange a banquet to get better acquainted?"

He was certain Insipid was talented enough to arrange a suitable event. The cat may be out of the bag, but if the Sith could make it look less like a cat...

"Can you possibly follow us? I will explain the situation to our leadership on the way and we can arrange a time and place that works with both our schedules." He smiled, mostly to himself. A smile of a predator as he waits in the weeds to pounce on his next kill.

Leia snorted. "No thank you, Serapis. Let's call it a day, and hope we don't meet again under these circumstances."

"We're coming back with a fleet, right?" Han said, in earshot. "The Hapans tried to kill you, Leia."

"I'm going to explain what has happened to the Chancellor before I make that promise, Han," Leia said, reproachful, when she was actually smiling at him. "They've their own leader to catch up with as well."

"Their terrorist leader."

"Apparently they represent a star system that sells chewing gum. Who knew?" Leia sounded wistful, as if she didn't really believe that. "Good luck to your new relationship, Helinith, Renn. All the best, Serapis."

With that, she signed off, and Han took the Falcon into orbit. The moment they broke atmo, they jumped.

But Serapis had a definite contact on the sensors; a Hapan shuttle that carried at least one darksider.

And of course two lovebirds.

Helinith winced at the mention of the bubble gum advert.

"...okay so I may have panicked slightly on that one."

The mention of Renn and herself's relationship wasn't entirely unexpected, after all they'd spent a good few hours verbally jousting with Leia, but it still hurt. She felt her cheeks turn hot.

"I'm gonna go find something to wear."

She left the pilot's cabin and began opening various storage compartments, searching for something, anything, that was made of fabric.

Renn watched Helinith leave, a small smile on his face. When he turned around he knew that Serapis would soon be preparing to lift, himself, so he backed into a corner where no delicate electronics would be damaged if he shifted during flight. He looked up and when he faced Serapis there was a completely unapologetic smile on his face.

”First, I’m sure Insipid will be disappointed that we did not secure the fleet but I am convinced that Ta’a had set all this up from the moment we departed. If the Princess had not been present we could have perhaps worked it out differently but that is hindsight for you.” He shrugged, knowing that there would be a reckoning of some sort.

And then his eyes sparkled as he spoke again, ”Second, how long have you known, my friend?” He did not elaborate as he was sure Serapis knew exactly what he was asking.

Leia's message brought a bigger smile to Serapis' face. Let her go back to her brother and say there's nothing to worry about, that they want tighter relations.

Sevens reported the ship was prepared for launch, so he lifted off. "Know about what, mister 'Acolyte'? Leia? That was simply a power play to her bluff. You two did the heavy lifting assuring her that you were Acolytes and not Sith."

Half way through scattering the various contents of the under-bunk storage across a cabin, Helinith had found what she was looking for. There were several sets of plain tops and trousers in a dull neutral grey, perhaps intended as complimentary causal or sleepwear for longer flights. They were simple, but were both softer than the bark and more decent than her vest and underpants. She quickly found an appropriate size and changed into them- evidently Hapeans took pride in their cloth manufacturing, for they were more comfortable than she was expecting. The only footwear options were sets of slippers, all of them too large for her, so she remained barefoot.

Clipping on her belt, she made doubly sure the pendant that Renn had given her was hidden underneath her clothes. Even if Serapis did now know, she felt it too private a thing to wear it openly. Finally she headed back to her master and Renn, not feeling the need to clean up after herself for such a short trip.

Renn smiled again, ”Yes, confusion to that family is a very good thing to have, if they continue to underestimate us it means we will have longer before they put two and two together and realize we are a much bigger threat to their Republic. As to the second bit,” the smile grew broad again then morphed into a smaller grin, ”no need to worry on it for now, my friend.”

“Besides, my friend,” he let his senses infuse the bridge again and could feel something driving Serapis, ”I can tell that Craziness and I are not the only ones with other things driving us at the moment, added to our missions for the Order.”

The shuttle broke atmosphere. Serapis switched over to the ion drives. It would be a matter of moments before they met up with Insipid.

Serapis nodded his tiny, human head to Renn's analysis. Confusion was a good tool. As was a related situation: misdirection. Serapis sometimes felt like a magician. No, don't pay any attention to my left hand. Look at my right.

Then Renn mentioned a "second bit." Was he missing something? He'd need to clear his mind of his elation over Leia and concern over Snoke to see what else is there. Was Serapis being misdirected right now? His brows furrowed.

Helinith joined the two others, looking less like a sith, and more like she'd just rolled through a hotel gift shop.

As the shuttle left the atmosphere, the knowledge of Insipid's presence, though hidden, weighed heavily on her mind. A guilty feeling again washed over her, though it seemed to particularly sit around in her toes, making them feel uncomfortable and sweaty.

While she appreciated Renn's optimism, something she would usually share, she was finding it difficult to reconcile the setup of Ta'a's ambitious trap (moreover the collection of some crucial intelligence from Leia) with the plain and simple fact that they hadn't succeeded. They did not have a fleet and 'Dad' was not likely to be happy about it.

She pulled out a stick of bubble gum, chewing to soften it and then blowing several pink bubbles, one after the other in quick succession.

"Let's go get this report to the former master done. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can get away from this awful system. I am curious as to what your secret mission was, third master."

Insipid had allowed Iudex to do the legwork with the Hapans while he waited for an update from Serapis, Renn or Helinith. He watched on his sensors as the Millennium Falcon jumped into hyperspace, expecting an update shortly. The man kept half an eye on the Falleen Sith while he looked forward to the inevitable twist and turns of a mission involving Helinith - and almost felt sorry for Serapis having to run herd over them.

An Ithorian running herd.

For some reason the turn of phrase amused him.

He watched as a shuttle broke orbit, seemingly with the consent of the Hapans as it was unmolested.

Coming out of his consideration of everything that had transpired, he turned to look at his apprentice. "I don't know that it was 'secret,' per se. Maybe it was." He shrugged. "It was quite eventful. And it resulted in another mission that I'm due to go on immediately. If you're lucky, you may accompany your master. I'm supposed to 'go alone,' but I don't know that the being I'm meeting with will begrudge me my apprentice going."

He turned back to the viewport to prepare for docking with Insipid's ship. "Hapan shuttle... ummm... don't know the name... requesting permission to dock." The Hapan flagship that had greeted him when he came in-system just yesterday was now threatening Insipid's ship. Don't they have anything better to do?

Renn sat back in the corner of the flight deck, composing what he may say to Insipid about the events that had occurred as they approached his shuttle. He thought about leaving out all that had occurred between he and Helinith but knowing Insipid the man would see what had changed with ease.

”I’d prefer not to be separated from Helinith, but I also know that isn’t often our choices. I do have a promise to keep though.” His bark darkened for a moment as he thought about the promise.

His brows darkened a moment later as his eyes narrowed, ”But we still must find a fleet and take care of whatever other business there is, not to mention explain why we were unable to obtain the use of one here. Let us hope Insipid recognizes that Ta’a had set us all up before we even arrived.”

Helinith was mid bubble blow, the focus of which kept her from blushing at the mention of the promise. However, she sent Renn a mental message. It can wait. I'll make sure you keep it.

She popped the bubble, chewed and chuckled at an image of herself sneaking up on Renn and dropping on him at an unexpected moment. Well, she'd have to get a lot better at hiding herself in the force if she was to ever try that.

"I do have an idea about that fleet problem though. I have Medea with me," here she waved her datapad. "There's a few different things she can do."

Serapis guided the shuttle into the tractor beam and released the stick. His brain relaxed, letting go of Leia, letting go of the Hapans, freed him to think. That's when it hit. The "second thing." Leia had said "new relationship." Renn's reluctance to let Helinith go. They all hit him like a laser cannon blast.

He spun around. Eyes narrowed. He looked at Helinith, then at Renn. Pointing a finger at each in turn. Words failed him. Then he thought of it. He looked at Renn, hard. "You hurt her, one word: herbicide. Likely not from me, either!"

Helinith flushed bright red but looked amused at the prospect of Renn 'hurting' her.

"Third master, I'm over a hundred years old, I've dropped a steel girder on a guy before and sat on top of it while he bled out. I'm more than capable of looking after myself."

Renn colored again at the thought from Helinith, but his smile broadened once more. He regained his composure to a degree when she mentioned he had an idea what to do with the fleet, looking forward to whatever she had in mind.

And then his head whipped up as he felt a surge from Serapis, He could almost feel the moment his friend put two and two together and everything clicked. His eyes narrowed at the threat, not even implied. Quietly, ”She has first call on taking my heart, my friend, even gave her the chance to take it if she wished. I’d tear down the galaxy before hurting her.” His eyes turned toward Helinith, one hand touching her shoulder once more as he spoke.

TAGS: @Sinrebirth, @darthhelinith, @DarthIshyZ

 

OOC: Think we had too much fun with this combo, hence it being late. With @greyjedi125 and @Sinrebirth

IC Hunger and Hate
Hunting Party

[“Copy that Ghost 2. I have four enemy bogeys coming in fast. Preparing defensive maneuvers.”]

Hunger’s eyes glinted behind the helmet his mask had become, a predatory smile creeping across his face, at the message from Hate. ’Defensive, sure.’ he thought as he activated, opened the S-foils on all four craft. He slowed the ‘Janus’ further as Hate took on the outermost TIE, destroying that craft, and, not so coincidentally, sucking the remaining three between himself and Hunger.

His smile continued as he targeted the TIEs, the flight path of the ‘Janus’ was such that the frigate call would work even better for the initial attack. Killing the thrusters and letting the fighters continue on inertia, he had the maneuvering thrusters turn all four toward the three TIEs, staggering the middle two slightly.

He got as close a firing solution as possible and began a timed fire, a ‘broadside’ from the ‘Janus’. The cannon shots from the X-Wings were about as heavy as a light frigate would carry in her broadside and in moments, as they ‘crossed the T’ the flight sent several broadsides into the foes.

As the maneuvering thrusters turned the X-Wings back into their original flight path, Hunger surveyed the damage the first shots had done. From the damage and trajectories of the such he pieced together a pleasant attack. It looked as though the cannons from the middle two craft had taken the wing spars off on two of the TIEs causing them to veer wildly, and into each other’s paths, resulting in a massive fireball and very little debris left. The third TIE almost appeared undamaged but at a closer glance the pilot’s ball was completely holed through, and the, otherwise, undamaged TIE was drifting forward on it’s inertia, a dead husk now.

[“Ghost 1, Ghost 2, responding to their unprovoked attack, unidentified foes have been terminated.”]

Inside the cockpit of his X-Wing, Manticore witnessed as Hunger all but single handedly destroyed all three remaining TIE advanced, though with a little help from the ships he'd brought along. In the Force Lord Hate sent the Anzati a 'friendly and competitive' message: Show-off!. This was a very small indulgence, which was generally unlike the usually somber zabrak.

[Copy, Ghost 2. I wager there are more bogeys in the area, lets continue our patrol. Stay alert.]

The last was routine and expected mission chatter for the benefit of their listeners. Now that the enemy had suffered losses, he was likely to respond with greater force. This was no time to lose their focus.

Hunger smiled behind his helmet, ’Got to make Hux begin to doubt.’ swiftly crossed the distance between his mind and Hates.

The ‘Janus’ looped and returned to a position off of the wing of the other X-Wing, as they continued on the flight path that Hate had originally been flying.

[“Roger, formation rejoined, Patrol resumed”]

He scanned the display as well as visually and mentally scanning the space around their craft, Hate was right, there would have to be more craft in the vicinity, not to mention that they would have to dissuade Hux from continuing on his path, or convince him to take on prey that appeared to have less of a sting, say the Hapans.

The First Order fleet began to turn suddenly, and their sensors would see why. The Terminus was approaching, albeit at maximum range. Wapoe promptly shoved into the Force a suggestion. Hux is open; go for it.


Trailing behind their cruiser was a tide of Givin frigates, elegant Wavecrest designs. The First Order, rightly or wrongly, was judging that a task force was more dangerous than the fighters harassing their TIE patrols; another four TIEs were launched to deal with them, and then another, as the Resurgent completely ignored and exposed itself to them.

'Open' was relative, it seemed.

The momentary pause in the ongoing conflict came to a sudden end when the tide of combat began to change. According to their sensors, the First Order Invasion Fleet began to turn in response to the Terminus who was on approach, followed by a flotilla of Givin frigates.

In the force Manticore felt the telbun’s prodding. That had been unexpected, but the zabrak knew that he spoke true. A chance to strike suddenly beckoned.

It appeared that someone aboard the FO capital ship had made a mistake while reacting to the Terminus, leaving the Resurgent vulnerable to attack. It was an opportunity that begged to be exploited.

[Ghost 2, Two enemy squadrons are on approach to engage allied forces. Copy?]

That would be a total of eight TIE fighters moving to engage the Terminus and the Givin, which was curious. It looked as if the FO was trying to sacrifice TIEs in order to create a smoke screen while they got away.

As he spoke, Hate sent a message to Hunger’s display screen:

[Capital Ship vulnerable. Initiating missile run on two ventral points: Flight Deck and Flight Deck shield projector.]

Manticore entered a risky flight path into the nav-computer and set the throttle to high burn. The Starfighter’s forward shields were at maximum as he sought to make himself as difficult as possible to target by the least amount of weapon batteries. He needed to get close enough to get target-lock on his intended targets, then let the proton torpedoes fly. A successful hit would verily compromise the Resurgent’s combat proficiency. Long Range Weapons Fire from orbiting defense satellites, or even the Terminus itself could potentially cripple the vessel- which was something the FO could not afford to let happen.

Immersed in the force, Manticore did not stop accelerating as he performed consecutive evasive maneuvers. His shields were being depleted at a slightly faster rate than he’d anticipated by the batteries attempting to shoot him down, but he had a contingency plan for that as well.

The moment the targeting solution began to beep, he instantly fired torpedos, then rolled out of the target zone as he banked away.

Hunger smiled at the messages from Hate, they had been given a prime opportunity and there was little to dissuade them from taking advantage of it. He sent a command to the droid of his X-Wing and had it track, collate, and target along the flight path of the two squadrons of TIEs attacking the Terminus. Once the calculations were done he gave the command and had the flight of four X-Wings turn as one and fire one broadside, as from the ‘Janus’ at the two flights.

[Ghost 2 copies, One broadside apiece fired at the squadrons, otherwise it’s up to the Terminus. Janus now targeting the maneuvering thrusters of the capital ship.]

The X-Wings turned back onto their flight path and the formation accelerated. As one they banked, forward shields absorbing whatever fire came from the batteries that they did not avoid the targeting computers searched for the engine runs that Hunger intended to destroy. Take everything from the ship save it’s hyperdrive, it would not have a choice but to jump to escape further destruction.

He reached out to the Terminus and Wapoe ’I may have scattered the TIEs for now, but now it’s time to see if that new ship is worth it’s weight, I’m sure the Givin craft will be able to assist. Ghost flight is taking on the capital ship.’

The chiming targeting computer settled into a solid tone and missiles leapt forth from all four craft. As the craft drove on toward the Resurgent they went into rapid fire with their cannons, making the defenses focus on the ‘Janus’ and lone companion X-Wing rather than the flights of missiles headed for all the vulnerable areas they could find.

The detonations rocked the Star Destroyer, and Hux glanced back at what he had thought were nuisances - just as the Terminus released a cloud of fighter craft. Hux grimaced, but his light cruisers were already moving forward -

The Givin frigates opened fire on the light cruisers and they allowed the fighters through -

Hux grimaced. “All cannons; destroy those ships!” And for Bernael and Manticore, their entire galaxy lit up as hundreds of weapons tried to find them -

The Star Destroyers we’re suddenly awash in the ship’s Wapoe has launched, demanding permission to launch fighters -

Keep him focused on you two; we’ll have this battle won soon enough if he can’t focus.

And there it was, just as he had secretly hoped. The enemy grew desperate and began firing; hundreds of laser weapons sought to destroy their X-Wings. Manticore flared in the Dark Side of the force, frightfully so, as the conflict spiked in intensity. There was absolutely no hesitation in him, for in the next few seconds, the zabrak piloted his starfighter as if possessed, achieving impossible maneuvers for a vessel piloted by a being made of flesh and blood. Still, the X-Wing took continuous damage as it neared the Resurgent's hangar bay.

Brother, I'm going in to gut this giant fish Lord Hate sent to Lord Hunger through the Force.

In that moment, Manticore wrapped himself in the Force as he went extra-vehicular, riding the momentum he now possessed to direct himself into the enemy's hangar bay. His starfighter was now nothing more than a giant missile, armed as it was with its live torpedos, on a direct collision path into the hangar, ahead of the zabrak. The perfect 'smoke screen'.

If all went as planned, Manticore intended to use the ensuing chaos to board the Resurgent. It was high time this Hux learned the grievous error of getting on the wrong side of the Sith!

Hunger’s smile was predatory as he felt Hate’s power rise. He saw it diving into the Hangar bay, Hate riding it’s flight path, preparing to attack. He felt the message from his brother in arms and it gave him his own idea. The turbolaser batteries, in the forward section seemed obsessed with taking down Hate and his fighter before they impacted and most of the others were directed toward the incoming Givin craft and the Terminus. There were still plenty firing upon his deception flight but few enough that they had not taken as much damage as Hate’s fighter.

’Let’s give these upstarts two separate battles to fight, in their own ship.’ he sent through the Force, to Hate.

Turning the ‘Janus’ he entered a seemingly random course toward the aft end of the Resurgent, one that kept the targeting computers focused on a certain section of the upper hull. When they reached a point where it would be impossible to miss the X-Wings went to rapid fire once again and the bridge shield generator shattered into thousands of shards.

The moment before the flight arced over and began a secondary strafing run, Hunger sent a command to continue as such, keeping as many point defenses occupied with the ‘Janus’ and not defending against the fire pouring in from the Givin and Terminus. At the height of the arc the canopy of his X-Wing popped open and Hunger rode the trajectory the ship had given him.

Moments before he impacted the ship the Dark rose in him as well and a wedge of Force energy pulsed out, shattering the Bridge screens. He smiled, the redesign had not fooled him, the flattened bridge, not to mention moving its location had been smart, but to anyone who could sense other beings such a concentration was as good as a tracking bug.

He rolled as he impacted the upper deck portion of the bridge, sabers flying to his hands as he cut down the unfortunate officer who had been standing too near to the screens.

’Race you to the commander of this tub, Hate. And play the let's see who kills the most game along the way.’ he sent Hate as he lashed out with the Force, terminals erupting in sparks and flames, his sabers flying around the bridge as he threw them at the crew that hadn’t abandoned their stations when he erupted through the screens.

The Resurgent's hangar bay had erupted into a blaze of fiery chaos, as TIEs, Shuttles and all manner of vessels exploded into blistering fireballs as a consequence of the Sith Lord's actions. Manticore moved through it all, seemingly unaffected, for Lord Hate was the Master of Flame.

The zabrak Sith Lord gestured in succession, releasing the purity of his blazing vehemence, tearing down fighters from their moorings, collapsing rows of parked ships one atop another, moving through walls of fire like a Hutt Crime Lord through curtains of swirling spice vapor.

Manticore did not smile, but the murderous glee was there. Upon receiving the unspoken message from Lord Hunger through the force, he did leer and acknowledged his brother in arms in return.

See you there.

Lord Insipid had been wise to pair these two sith together. Alone, they were a right terror, but together, their enemies would best abandon hope.

Manticore felt them before they even came before him; Stormtroopers: about a platoon in number. Manticore suddenly dashed through smoke and fire, igniting his lightsaber as he did so, then sent it flying as he spun out, a crimson disc of death whirling through the air. In a single pass, the flying weapon decapitated five hapless enemies. The sudden deaths were answered with a fusillade of blaster bolts; but Manticore had already moved from the spot he had been a mere second ago.

Within the fiery chaos, the stormtroopers had no chance against the zabrak.

They would not get to target him. He would take them down, then move again, and again and again. Hunger and Hate brought the sting of death aboard the Resurgent, all thanks to Hux and his inability to see. Now he had serious problems, not only outside his ship, but within also.

Hux had already abandoned the bridge; he was rushing to the centre of the ship, in essence elongating one chaser, and shortening the other. The number of Stormtroopers between the two of them was almost equal, and Hux could only panic at the reports flooding in on his comlink.

His fleet outnumbered, outgunned and outmatched the enemy; how could they be losing? Was his grasp of space tactics so poor? Hux missed Sloane for a terrible, terrible, moment; the woman had been a thorn in his side since the Battle of Endor - but she was a brilliant mind and would have likely made Grand Admiral without Rax’s help.

What was he going to do?

He summoned his comlink; he had to turn the tide somehow. “All guns; blow apart that Terminus?”

Hunger smiled grimly as he received Hate’s message. Insipid indeed had chosen well to continue to keep them paired. Their styles of combat or approaching a problem were similar, but different enough that when working together they went from a pair of deadly Sith into almost a force of nature.

And Hux’s comm call proved that perfectly. To his detriment though, Hunger had not yet left the command bridge. He spun, surveying the bridge, and his eyes glinted as they fell on the Fire Control system. Striding over to it, he reached into his cloak and extracted a data spike. What he was doing would probably buy the Terminus and the Givin ships only a few minutes but it would be more time than the Resurgent had.

Inserting the spike in the console, he watched as it went to work. A virus entered the system, flooding the datanet with data, slowing the net and making it more difficult to respond to orders. Another effect was that the system itself was attacked and all ‘Friendly’ ships codes were not transposed with ‘Foe’ codes and vice versa. It would take long minutes of the Resurgent firing on their own ships before the system could be purged of the virus.

Turning away, Hunger felt troops approaching the bridge, hardened troops. Smiling once more, he raced to a second console and, before destroying it, reset the lighting systems of the ship, sending it all into emergency mode. As darkness fell, and low red lighting took its place, Hunger faded into the shadows. He slipped through the frozen open port to the bridge and launched himself into the assembled troops.

They had made improvised barricades, hidden themselves in recesses along the hall to the bridge, but that made little difference. Hunger leapt the first, stabbing and sweeping one saber below him, taking limbs from those still attempting to react. Landing on his feet his hand swept to the side, lightning flashing out and taking the three defenders now turning toward him from the second barricade. As the charred bodies fell he bulled through the third barricade, blasting pieces into the awaiting troops.

Dropping low as the blaster bolts flashed above him, he slashed back and forth and relished the screams as legs were sliced through. Standing once more he listened but aside from the initial three barricades there were no troops yet assembled here. He stepped among the writhing troops, slicing heads from bodies or surgically stabbing into bodies, puncturing hearts.

He almost laughed as he could sense bodies moving in what had to be senior crew barracks just before the lift. Touching the door studs one at a time, he flipped primed thermal detonators into each before slamming and locking the doors behind him. As he reached the lift, explosions followed in his wake. He reached out and sensed what had to be the commander of this vessel as he seemed to race toward what could be the secondary bridge.

Stepping into the lift he called, ”Secondary Bridge.” He did laugh now, as the floor dropped out from under him, the security measures not recognizing him as he did not have senior officer codes. His talons flashed out and began peeling strips of metal from the side of the lift shaft. Slowing he passed several floors. His sabers now back on his belt, he leapt from wall to wall, talons digging in, as he descended. Blaster fire ricocheted around the lift shaft as crew reacted, firing into it, attempting to destroy him.

Passing each floor as he headed toward the secondary bridge, he sent blasts of lightning down each he passed, scattering, injuring, or killing, any too close to the opening. Finally he reached the floor that felt like the correct one and leapt to the hallway floor. He could feel Hate approaching and knew they would soon confront the fleet commander. Pitching his voice to carry and filled with inflections designed to encourage surrender, sending the same energy through the Force as well, ”Come out, come out, wherever you are, little mouse. Surrender yourself and your people may just live, if we are feeling generous.”

TAGS: @greyjedi125, @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Brendol Hux
Aboard the Resurgent, escaping two Lords

The red-haired man stopped at one of the port-side bays. Hux knew that he was not going to survive today; he knew it. As much as the crew were dying - in great numbers - Manticore and Bernael had cut through his ship crew like butter; a single Zabrak and Anzati. Terrifying, at that. He heard and felt the guns go, firing and shaking the Star Destroyer.

He pounded at the airlock, but it would not cycle. "General Hux override!"

There is an arriving ship; the airlock is unable to cycle while the bay is open.

Hux hissed. He turned to his half-a-dozen Stormtroopers, all of which he had re-armed with riot gear to give them a chance - and also with the four flametroopers, and, of course, his two man guard; the prototype Elite Praetorian Guard.



The layered crimson armour of the Praetorian Guard was a high-tech onion-skin of laminate, impregnated with conductive wire-paths that, once powered, created an intense local magnetic field. Once this energy-intensive field activated, the powered plates could deflect blaster fire. Even a lightsaber would glance off, though a directed thrust could penetrate the shell. The mag-coils were costly, the plates heavy, and mag-field exposure was ultimately painful to the wearer.

But; they were perfect bodyguards.

Hopefully it would be enough in time for the airlock to cycle.

On their comms, as they both simultaneously reached the open area - with their count yet to compare - they would hear the screams of the crewers of the Terminus and an immense loss of life; indeed, if they checked sensors, hundreds of escape pods had just entered the void as the First Order fleet smashed the cruiser - and the Givin flotilla abandoned it's headlong charge into the shattered but still deadly First Order fleet - the Resurgent had finally been able to show its teeth, and while they had racked up a great deal of damage to the ten Imperial Star Destroyers and reduced the light cruisers to atoms, they had no knowledge of how terrifying the battlecruiser was -.

In many ways, what was about to happen between Hux and Manticore and Bernael was the pivot point of the entire battle.

Wapoe, however, was completely absent in the Force; dead?

TAG: @greyjedi125, @darthbernael (combo)
---
IC: Merel
Arriving, Star Forge

As she watched Leda rhyme her way through the Holocron's enquiries, Merel could see a certainty fill her. Sian glanced from his sister to Leda, seeing her excitement grow as the newcomer settled herself into her role, and he grew jealous of the attention Merel showed their new Mother.

"Again, who is Braata Danlos? Why would you think we are linked?"

"Braata Danlos was, or rather, is, one of the four Sages of Dwartii. But it was always said that Braata had a hidden, second nature to her. Some think of that as Braata and Danlos... but others just saw it as her having two inclinations; one dark, and one light. The mystery was never truly solved. The other Sages had two names also, but they are not considered to have two aspects, so to speak."

"Here we go with the mad talk..." Sian said. "... she does this."

Merel shushed him. "Either way, if you haven't been named, maybe you will. Or, maybe you already have been... as you don't remember your real name..." The Holocron continued lazily. "But, we're here, so, you'll be Mother either way, and you will tell us your name."

The ship had docked with the part-built Star Forge. The shuttle ramp dropped, and Merel and Sian smirked at her. The hangar revealed a set of tentacles, metallic, electricity coruscating along them, seeping into the ship. Merel raised a hand, and the tentacles paused, as is servile. "The Star Forge is Mother, and Mother is the Star Forge - until, they become you, Leda. They take sustenance from the Force users we have supplied, but we have an understanding with it - we feed it, but are not incorporated, and they build. But... they can also, with agreement, pour their power into others."

"Through this, we can make you Mother; and with that power, you can proclaim you true name and your history will become your future."

Indeed, the room was already starting to warp; the flicker of power was beginning to cause the walls to yaw, and for a brief moment she would see the silhouette of her former Master. The tentacles wound, and unwound, and through the rear of the ship Leda would be able to see the whirring and work of a factory.

TAG: @QueenSabe7
---
IC: Taun We
Kamino, Prime Ministers room

There were a variety of questions, and statements, and as much as Taun We was ready to provide some updates but Cocytus was pontificating, she could see. She let him reach the end -

"Tell me, Prime Minister, what do you know of Sith Alchemy?" She paused one more time, but then, just as she thought he was going to stop, and she could answer, he carried on. "In Ancient times, the Sith would take creatures from countless worlds and reshape them in our image for use in our wars against the Jedi and the Old Republic. Sith Alchemy is indeed a more sorcerous version of Kaminoan eugenics, but the concepts are identical. Tell me, will it be possible to combine Kaminoan science with Sith Alchemy? I will seek out tomes and Holocrons on the subject if I must…"

"I have been picking at the history in your absence, Lord Cocytus," the Prime Minister said. "I gather the Sith could create monsters; so it would follow that we could apply those principles, yes. I gather the Bestiary of Darth Caldoth expands on all manner of creatures and so forth?"

She handed a datapad to Styx, as she doubted that she could hand it directly to him. "We have been in contact with Moff Ecressys of the Velcar Sector; he still wants to maintain his contract with us if at all possible; he put the stress on it. He has raided several treasure vaults of the surrounding sectors, including the ancient library of Criton's Point. He has much to offer, be it historic or military technology."

"Meanwhile the First Order have abandoned Mustafar, after a variety of skirmishes with scout ships; a New Republic task force arrived not long afterwards, we gather. The self-same Millennium Falcon that was evident here was among the vessels deployed, including the flagship - the Home One." Taun We clucked her tongue. "My cabinet is concerned that the New Republic will come here, in-force, if given the excuse."

Styx spoke up. "You want us to go?"

"Lie-low," Taun We clarified. "As I believe the saying goes in Basic parlance. We have lost Tipoca City, a whole generation of clones and key elements of our research and staff - including the data on the growth of stable Force users... between the financial burden of us being sued for breach of contract and punishments imposed on us in absentia, we may lose credit with he Banking Clan..."

Styx cut her off with a squeeze of her fist, choking the Prime Minister. "You do not make suggestions to Lord Cocytus. You facilitate what he requests of you." The guards tensed, lifting their vibro-pikes into ready positions, pointed at Styx. She paid them no heed.

TAG: @Darth Cocytus
---
IC: Darth Insipid
Arriving in the Hapes Cluster

While Iudex dealt with Galney, he connected with Helinith, Renn and Serapis. He reached out, extending himself in the Force and blanking them all from the perception of anyone coming to the surface. In short order, they would be docked aboard his shuttle, of similar design, after all.

He let the Falleen continue to deal with the Ducha, as he headed to the airlock. When he arrived, he waited in the ready room nearby as the tube connected. He fluttered a hand to bring four chairs ready, and took one, leg folded. "Welcome back; but not a treaty in sight and a violent excursion that didn't solve much."

His voice was mild, but in the Force he was peeved. "Alright; you each get one sentence to explain what happened before I impose my solution on the entire Hapan Cluster, and you will do precisely what I need you do... it may involve murdering a lot of people."

"One sentence," Insipid said, lifting a finger.

In his other, he twirled his lightsaber hilt.

TAG: @DarthIshyZ, @darthhelinith, @darthbernael (combo), @Silvertough (outstanding TAG)
---
IC: Shimmer
Explume Minor

The screams echoed through the Force, and Shimmer held her head - but indeed, much of the Lugubraa pealed away, wailing and panicking. For Soliloquy, after all, his brood fed and fed and fed on the power he drew into him, and swelled against him. It was pain, that pressure, and strength.

Wincing against the pain, Shimmer took the initiative and gunned the ship forward for the direction her Master had been taking them.

In very short order she swept in atmosphere, the battle in orbit re-starting as the various enemies took advantage of the interruption. However, the planet was a series of wrecked cities and craters; the cloud cover was skorched clean. "I need some guidance, Master... um," Shimmer blanched a little. "The planet's been devastated - I think your people are dead and gone."

TAG: @Mitth_Fisto

 

IC: Lord Styx
Kamino, bowing

The apprentice released Taun We immediately, and the guards refocused their aim on Styx. Suitably scolded, Styx bowed. "My apologies, Lord Cocytus." With that, she stepped out of the room, keying her head low. The Prime Minister marshaled her poise, and brushed down her robe.

"Thank you, my Lord." She listened on and nodded.

"The Muuns from the Banking Clan that have opted to represent their clients are in-fact here, having presented their legal writ in person on behalf of their clients." Cocytus sounded annoyed; she was. "Muunilinst remains a financial hub notwithstanding that it lies within former Imperial territories."

"I can extend an invite to the Moffs I can reach, if you wish. Eccresys, Gideon, and Royen come to mind, though the latter has proven difficult to keep track of. I am tracing Grand-General Loring for you; he was last based in the Dustig Sector."

The Prime Minister wondered aloud. "The Empire is not unified, but it still exists; the New Republic is too busy with the Core and Inner Rim Imperial remnants at present. We could set up an Imperial Confederation from here, my Lord? Offer our cloning projects to them in-exchange for mutual-aid."

TAG: @Darth Cocytus (extra TAG because we have plenty to move forward with )